Effect of heat treatment on strength and ductility of 52CrMoV4 spring steel.

In this study we examined the behaviour of the 52CrMoV4 spring steel at various tempering temperatures and soaking times. The hardening and quenching process was set up to achieve a minimum hardness of 800 HV by selecting an appropriate quenching medium. The microstructure was evaluated optically and with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the mechanical properties were characterised by hardness and tensile tests. An excellent combination of strength and ductility was achieved on conventional alloyed steel by adjusting heat treatment process parameters. The strength and ductility of the material was found to be comparable to that of advanced high strength steel (AHSS).